Cape Ann, May 1, 2024 – The first ever Cape Ann Pride Weekend will take place with events planned in Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester and Essex from Friday, May 31, to Sunday, June 2, 2024. The weekend will include a beach party, musical performance, DJ dance party, museum tours, pride flag raisings, bowling, a pub mixer, tea dance and other fun events to celebrate and support LGBTQIA+ community and culture on Cape Ann.
The weekend, which coincides with the start of Pride Month in June, is organized by the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and the grassroots Cape Ann Pride Coalition. Some Cape Ann Pride Weekend events will be specifically geared toward LGBTQIA+ youth, their families and ally community members.
“The Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce is proud to be a founding organizer and partner in the creation of the first Cape Ann Pride Weekend,” said Chief Executive Officer Steve Buckley. “The chamber is committed to advancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility across Greater Cape Ann, and Cape Ann Pride Weekend will make clear that we are a welcoming, tolerant and open community.”
Cape Ann Pride Weekend will be packed with fun events including a Bowling with Pride event for LGBTQIA+ youth, families and friends at Cape Ann Lanes; a musical performance by Kicked Off the Bus at Whale’s Jaw Cafe; a family Pride Picnic on the Cape Ann Museum green; a Pride kickoff DJ dance at The Cut; tours of the Beauport Sleeper-McCann House; an 18+ beach party hosted by the North Shore Health Project on Pavilion Beach; a 21+ tea dance on the pier behind Maritime Gloucester; and pride flag raisings in Essex, Gloucester and Manchester (the latter organized by North Shore Pride). To see the full schedule of events including those that require reservations or tickets, visit CapeAnnPride.org.
“Cape Ann is a special, eclectic place,” said Savannah Hopkins, a ninth grader at Rockport High School and Cape Ann Pride Coalition member. “Cape Ann Pride Weekend will be a chance to unite and have fun and demonstrate our wonderful LGBTQIA+ diversity – to say at the top of our lungs that we’re here, some of us are queer, and we’re part of the community every day as your friends, family and coworkers.”
Across the country, Pride Month marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion and is recognized with celebrations, parades, performances and other events to shine a spotlight on LGBTQIA+ culture and honor its achievements and history. LGBTQIA+ community members have long called Cape Ann home, and this year’s Cape Ann Pride Weekend will be the first time LGBTQIA+ residents and culture is celebrated in a full-scale, organized way.
“As a bisexual man, I was concerned along with my strong ally wife about whether we’d be welcomed and find a strong LGBTQIA+ and allied community on Cape Ann,” said George Grattan, a Gloucester resident who moved from Boston three years ago. “We’ve found Cape Ann to be welcoming and supportive, and we couldn’t be happier living and working here.”
Contact:
- Steve Buckley, Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, (978) 283-1601
- George Grattan, Cape Ann Pride Coalition, (617) 413-6619
- Stephen Hopkins, Cape Ann Pride Coalition, (978) 424-3716
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